Michael Cohen Hiring Attorney Lanny Davis Signals His Divorce From His Former Boss Is Final

Why is the hiring of Lanny Davis by Michael Cohen such an important signal that the separation between Mr. Cohen and his former boss, republican President Donald J. Trump, is permanent and irrevocable?

If there was one person in the entire universe who despised the US president the most, Lanny Davis would be right up there along with all of the other “Never Trumpers.” But Lanny Davis is more than that. He has been a long time close personal friend of the Clinton family, and an ardent defendant of Hillary Rodham Clinton. He is the chief proponent of the concept of that President Trump stole the election from Hillary Clinton with the assist of Russia. He actually wrote a book on this subject, “The Unmaking of the President 2016.”

It is my suspicion that President Trump has been somewhat comforted by the thought that if Michael Cohen spilled the beans, he would also be muddying his own reputation. Also, the FBI is already in the possession of over a million documents, items of evidence that it accumulated from its April 9th raid on all of Michael Cohen’s places of work and that the court has ruled is not subject to the attorney-client privilege. There is nothing that the president and his minions can do to prevent all of this data from becoming part of the record of the FBI’s Trump-Russian probe being led by the Special Counsel Robert Mueller III.

The best the president and his abettors can do is paint Mr. Cohen as a scumbag who’ll say and do anything to save his own rear end. Fortunately, Mr. Cohen has a competent advocate who is competent in the the the legal and the political world.

TRUMP/ COHEN/ STORMY DANIELS

On July 5, 2018, Maggie Haberman of the New York Times penned the following report “Michael Cohen Hires Lanny Davis, Lawyer Close to the Clintons”

Excerpts:

“Michael D. Cohen, the former personal lawyer to President Trump who is under investigation by federal prosecutors in Manhattan, has hired Lanny J. Davis, the Washington lawyer and public relations consultant best known for serving in the Clinton White House, to represent him.

“The pairing is unusual. Mr. Davis has tried to position himself as a key defender of Bill and Hillary Clinton — particularly Mrs. Clinton, whom Mr. Trump defeated in the 2016 presidential election and continues to attack as “totally crooked.” Mr. Cohen was once a fierce defender of Mr. Trump.”

“The president’s allies have long considered the wide-ranging corruption investigation into Mr. Cohen and his business dealings to pose an even more imminent threat to the president than the special counsel investigation. Mr. Davis said he was persuaded to join the legal team after Mr. Cohen said in an interview with ABC News that aired this week that his first allegiance was to his family and to his country, not to the president.”

“Like most of America, I have been following the matter regarding Michael Cohen with great interest,” Mr. Davis said in a statement. “As an attorney, I have talked to Michael many times in the last two weeks. Then I read his words published on July 2, and I recognized his sincerity.”

“He added, “Michael Cohen deserves to tell his side of the story.”

GUY PETRILLO

“Mr. Davis is expected to join Guy Petrillo, a former federal prosecutor in (SDNY) Manhattan, in representing Mr. Cohen.”

“Mr. Cohen has made moves to separate himself from Mr. Trump, stripping his Twitter profile of reference to the president. And he has told people he is preparing for an onslaught from prosecutors, who have been poring over documents seized in raids on his home and office, and a public relations onslaught from Mr. Trump’s associates, who have indicated they will raise questions about Mr. Cohen’s credibility. However, they have said to allies that they will go after him only if Mr. Cohen strikes first and have indicated they want to “avoid provoking him.”

Mr. Cohen has told allies that he no longer wants to be the “villain” in the narrative about Mr. Trump’s behavior.”

“Mr. Davis wrote a book arguing that the election was stolen from Mrs. Clinton by the actions of James B. Comey, the F.B.I. director who oversaw the investigation into her use of a private email server while she was secretary of state. The Clintons have made the argument to allies.”